Evanescence: Fading Memories
by CoRpAsItE
Summary: Following the events of High Tide, Dusty and Aya are settling down into a new life with their newly adopted son. But the pains of the past must be faced again before they can truly move on. Filling in the gaps between High Tide and Evanescent Memories.
1. Chapter 1

**Evanescent Dreams: Fading Memories**

**A Resident Evil: Evanescent Dreams Side Story**

The light in the room is dim, the sound of pen on paper scratching from the slightly parted door of the second-story master bedroom. A grumbled voice is heard over the sound of a woman slightly snoring. As the room becomes more encased in light as another lamp is turned on, the man hunched over the desk growls and drops several crumpled balls of used paper into an overfilled trashcan. Not many would know by reading what he wrote, but the brunette twirling the pen in his fingers was at one point a very respected writer, though it was only among internet fiction sites. But the events over the past fourteen years of his life have twisted his mind to the point where he no longer knows sentence structure and the creative aspects of writing, but his mind is now filled with military strategies and the weak spots of every monster created by Umbrella.

Dusty Stracener yawns and drops the pen, the ink having just ran out, _The Riley Infection is done… I guess Isle Eras is next… People will learn what happened, they have to now, Umbrella can't keep on doing what it's doing… I've spent months writing these words, reliving every moment of my first encounter with the corporation responsible for destroying the world. I've lost too many friends, taken too many bullets to let this die now… Every scream I hear one more time just fuels my need to write this book… Many before me have tried the same, and met horrible fates… There was Jen, who became the actual Surrogate Mother for the first Draco… Watching the video, that has to be the first time I've actually cried out loud… The pain…_

He audibly chokes at the thought, but continues writing the Intermission, _Umbrella has done some horrific things… Unforgivable things… If these words ring true to anyone who is reading this… Please, I implore that you stand together with those around you and put an end to this company…_

A soft hand is draped over his shoulder, a voice like honey whispering into his ear, "Sweetie, it's five in the morning…. Get some sleep, please…"

A smile creeps across Dusty's lips as the squeezes the hand with his own, "Just let me finish the Intermission and I'll lie down." he looks up at her, "Okay babe?"

His girlfriend, Aya Akechi, smiles lightly and nods, knowing it's just another ploy to get her to fall asleep before him, "Okay… Good morning hun, I'll go start the coffee.."

Dusty sighs and chuckles, "I can't fool you at all can I?"

The redhead spins around from the doorway and tilts her head, her green eyes locking with his brown, "Not in your life darlin'."

Both share a small laugh, but it fades away as Dusty returns to his memoirs. The pages do not cover anything technical, scientific, or mathematical, cause he just doesn't care. He just wants people to see what Umbrella has done, it's up to the government to uncover how. As the tip of the pen runs across the paper, the brunette writer watches as the words turn to pictures, then pictures turn to movement, causing him to relive the moments he is talking about.

"Hey dad! Mom says get your ass down for coffee!" Sean's voice carries well in the empty hallways, followed by the smack from Aya.

"Don't use that word! I raised you better than that!" Dusty smiles at the softer tone of her voice.

"Sorry mom….." he's only been here three months, but Sean has adopted them very quickly, even becoming accustomed to their not-so-normal life.

Sean arrived by taxi three days after Dusty brought Aya back home from the Navy Hospital near Isle New Eras after the events there. Ever since it has been all out war over the last of everything in the fridge, the remote, even the bathroom. Aya has had to break up several wrestling matches between the two, even going so far as to quickly smacking them both with a wet towel. It's been happier times since he arrived that is for sure.

"DUSTY DAMN IT!" time to get up and have some coffee, that is one phrase that is not to be repeated twice.

11

_He's going to make my hair turn gray before I need it to… _Aya sighs as she hears her love stumble down the stairs and take a seat at the table.

"Hey! That's the last waffle!" _Oh boy… Better make some more…_

She turns from the scene at the table and pulls the freezer open, the box of waffles missing, "He wasn't kidding Darlin'…. We're out of waffles.."

A laugh and Dusty replies with a mouth full of waffle, "K, I'll buy shum lata."

Sean huffs and leans back in the chair, apparently angry that his dad stole the last waffle, after he cooked them for his breakfast. Aya just smiles at the scene and grabs the pot and pours another cup for her guy, turning away just long enough to replace the pot on the warmer. As she turns around Dusty appears in front of her, a smile on his face.

"Wha… What? What are you smiling about?"

The brunette just jerks his head toward the window, "Know what that is?"

She misses it at first, but slowly her eyes adjust to the sight outside, "It's the first snow of the season…."

"Uh huh," another, slier smirk crosses his lips, "know what that means darlin'?"

The redhead Asian smiles widely and runs upstairs, "I'll get my coat!"

Sean tilts his head, signaling that Dusty needs to explain, "What? Oh, first snow of each season, we go have a snowball fight, just as a remembrance to our friends that have passed."

"Like Uncle Doug?"

Dusty has to admit, Aya never spoke much of him, just that without him, she wouldn't have known anything about Umbrella's recent movements and research. Or have gotten Sean into their lives. He owes Doug a lot for having done very little, it's amazing how things work out like that sometimes. Dusty yawns and stretches, the fatigue of not sleeping the past few days is finally kicking in, his eyes drooping dangerously.

"Dad? Hello?" Sean is waving his hand in front of the older man's face.

"Hmm?" he glances down at the child, then smiles and picks him up, "C'mere kiddo. Got a surprise for you."

Sean's eyes widen and he quickly tries to scramble from his father's grip, "No! NO! DAD!"

Dusty laughs and tightens his grip, quickly tearing the front door open and tossing the boy out into the snow-covered front yard. Sean screams loudly and jumps up, instantly shivering from the sudden cold and snow-soaked clothing. The younger child glares at the older man and kicks him in the shin.

"OW! What the hell Sean!?" Dusty rubs his shin quickly.

"Just for that," Sean runs past him and locks the front door, then screams through the window, "I GET THE LAST ROLLS FOR A WEEK!"

11

After finally getting Sean settled down and in warm clothes, Aya and Dusty find themselves walking through the snow-filled streets in Northern Arkansas. Kids run and scream, throwing snowballs at each other. Ever since they got back from Isle New Eras, the first snow has always been one of their fondest memories of each year together. Nothing can blemish the snow, though sometimes when Dusty hears a scream, he thinks back to that night in Riley, the blood, the snow, the steam from each round of ammunition fired, and finally the smell of decay, death, and gunpowder…

Aya always catches him doing this, and proceeds to plant a snowball into his face, "Hey! This is our happy time okay? Where we going this time?"

Dusty smiles and wraps his arm around her, then points far off toward the park, "Thought we'd walk through the park this year, it's about time we made a full circle eh?"

His red-haired companion giggles and squeezes his arm tightly, just happy to have him around, "What's the date?"

"It's October 11th babe," Dusty turns them toward the park, his right hand hidden deep in his jacket pocket.

Motion appears among the trees, Dusty having caught them out of his peripheral a few minutes prior to stepping through the stone archway leading into the park. A slick smile covers his face, but he hides it from his love. A crow caws off in the distance, then nothing, time slowing down as Dusty pushes Aya down to the snow and dives over her, pulling the preformed snowball from his pocket. Two balls pass over his own head as he tosses his weapon, nailing a kid right between the ears. All commotion stops, the kids awestruck at the precision of the attack.

"What the HELL Dusty!?" Aya jumps up and swipes the cold snow from her hair and clothing.

She looks around, spots the kid pelted with a snowball, then hangs her head and sighs, "Why do you always start a fight here?"

"They," Dusty dodges a hail of snowballs, his face turning into a death glare, "start them each time…"

Aya dives and grabs a handful of snow into her hands, "Well, as always, we finish it."

Laughs, screams, and shudders fill the park as the small war continues, the park being deprived of all snow from the intensity of each battle. At the end of the war, Dusty and Aya are covered head-to-toe in snow, shaking to no end from the wet clothing and cold air. They won, as usual, using their knowledge of how to take out human-based monsters to easily out maneuver and overcome the twenty-four kids. One might wonder why they keep trying, but that is answered as Dusty stands up and smiles.

"Come on guys, off to the pancake shop for hot chocolate."

Win or lose, everyone gets chocolate afterward, it's Dusty and Aya's gift to the town, they keep the kids safe and sound so the parents can enjoy the first snowfall how they want. No one knows what really happens to be honest, they just think the kids go off to play, but Dusty took over and got all the kids together and planned this snowball fight each year. It keeps everyone happy and safe, which is right how Dusty wants everyone. Plus, it's just a ton of fun for everyone involved.

"Hey baby," Aya smiles and turns toward him.

He smiles back and replies, "What?"

She kisses him, causing a groan from the crowd of kids, then an onslaught of snowballs while they scream, "That's gross!"

11

Sean stares out the large bay window in the living room, a small book in his hands, the title having worn off from the years of use. His eyes scan the horizon suspiciously for anything odd and out of the ordinary. He remembers bits and pieces of how he came to be here, the woman that the state forced him to call mom, the beatings, the rants, the redheaded angel and the man called Doug. Sean can't explain it, but he knows someone is out there, watching him and his family, waiting for the moment to get one of them. He isn't sure why, but he's pretty positive his dad's many long trips out of town have something to do with it. He leaves with full bags, yet Dusty returns without the bags sometimes. If he does bring them back, they are just rotten and destroyed. Even those bags don't last long, the fires Aya burns them in swallowing them quickly.

"Why?" Sean leans on the windowsill, resting his chin on his crossed arms.

None of it makes sense to be perfectly honest, the training, which his dad calls Military Games, the lack of letting Sean travel with his own father, and of course the fact the shed in the backyard is locked with a lock to make Fort Knox jealous. He's tried several times to pick the lock, broken several pairs of bolt cutters, and even took a torch to it, all to no avail. Whatever that lock is made of, it's not going anywhere except by key. It's all so confusing when looked at separately, which is why he's just now starting to question it all.

"Where do they go? Why play in the snow?" these are just some of questions that plague his mind each and every day.

Before he can delve farther into the conundrums that make up most of his thoughts, the door flies open, the two people he's come to call his parents laughing as they shake off the snow. Sean smiles and jumps down from the dining room table, quickly running up to greet them. Dusty laughs at something Aya mumbled in his ear, then quickly picks her up, both of them sharing a laugh and a quick kiss.

"Hey kiddo," a key is tossed into Sean's waiting hands, "go out to the shed, I got something to tell you."

_What the hell is this?_ Sean's blue eyes rest on the round key between his fingers.

"Sean?"

He shakes his head to clear the confusion, "Sure dad."

11

The snow has picked up and is quickly turning into a blizzard, despite what the weathermen are telling them nowadays. Sean shudders from a sudden wind change, but keeps his pace steady and his direction the same. The shed rests out in the middle of the backyard like a haunted mansion on a hill. Well, for Sean, this shed really is a haunted mansion, being as he has his own stories about what lies inside. He stares at the large metal doors and keeps the key tight in his right fist. Sean has come this far, all twenty yards of it, too far to turn around now. An audible gulp fills the air as Sean fumbles the key into the lock, the shackle unhooking almost effortlessly.

_I guess dad really knows his locks…_that being said because Sean has tried several times to pick and break this lock, but a tiny key unlocks it easily.

The doors creak open, the dark, yellow light starting to cover the snow. A smell that is faintly familiar to him wafts into the air, a scent that makes him uneasy and agitated. He shuffles his feet, then steps inside, the door sliding open the rest of way on well oiled tracks.

"Oh my god…." the sight before him causes Sean to stare in absolute wonder.

Hundreds of weapons, everything from handguns, grenades, to rocket launchers. You name the weapon, it's probably here. In the center of the room is a small glass case, an awkward-looking handgun rests solemnly on two steel supports. The magazine rests a good four inches lower than the grip of the weapon, signifying the extra bullets it carries. The barrel has a heat-shield on the end, meaning it fires more than one round with a squeeze of the trigger.

"An M93R…." his voice is hushed, as if not to disturb the souls that these weapons have probably taken from the living realm.

"Yup, she's my pride and joy," Dusty smiles as he glances down at his son, the look of wonder apparently infectious.

11

_Yeah, this whole room is my pride and joy… Years of collecting, shooting, exploding…_

Dusty picks the glass case up and sets it aside, letting the M93R taste fresh air for the first time in years. The weapon still has the same feel to it that it had the very last time he held it. That fateful day is still fresh in his mind….

"_**Dusty! NO!" Aya runs toward the brunette as the man drops down on top of the hoodlum that tried to mug them.**_

_**The teenager squirms and tries to fight back, but Dusty just drives the side of the M93R against his temple, "You little piece of shit! Did no one ever teach you how to make your own living!?"**_

_**Aya stands back in shock, the look of rage on her love's face reflecting the hidden mental issues resting inside Dusty's mind. The kid screams out, but no one is around, not in this town. That's one of the few reasons they moved to Little Rock: the quiet, the solitude of the town. Ever since the earthquake back in 2010 that nearly leveled the city, it hasn't quite recovered, and apparently never will. But that's minor in comparison to the scene unfolding before them.**_

_**Another call out for help, another smack with the handgun, "You need a fucking role model… Someone who can teach you to EARN a living!"**_

"_**Dusty!" Aya calls to her friend, scared about his next move, "Stop!"**_

_**Apparently he comes to his senses, as he stops and looks down at the bleeding kid, "Oh my god…."**_

_**He stands up, allows the kid to run away, and stares at the blood dripping from the barrel of the M93R, "Aya?"**_

"_**Hmm?" she hugs him from behind, trying to comfort him.**_

"_**I think," he gulps audibly, trying to find the courage to lay his past to rest, "it's time to put these away… For now at least."**_

"_**Of course, love…" she kisses the back of his neck.**_

Dusty shakes the distasteful memory from his mind and stares at the gun once again, "It's time I told you the dark secret Aya has brought you into… You ready to hear it?"

He frowns as Sean nods slowly, "I think so, sir."

_Wow, he's never said sir to me…_a bit of doubt crosses Dusty's mind for the first time in three years.

**END**


	2. Chapter 2

**Evanescent Dreams: Fading Memories**

Aya rubs her hands together and stares out the back window, watching the shed with a new type of worry. How is Sean going to handle their secret? Dusty and she have talked about it several times since he arrived in that taxi, but they always concluded that it wasn't right to burden the child with that nightmare. Granted, they both began to see he was catching on, but it never felt right. Now she has to wonder what made Dusty ready to spill the secret and pretty much ruin Sean's future. Just like Aya and Dusty, Sean will have to live knowing what Umbrella and HCF are doing, live with the fact that he can never have a decently normal life…. She doesn't want that for her son, she didn't even want this life for HER…. But here she is, watching as her love teaches her son about each weapon, each monster, each life perverted by Umbrella… Sometimes you can't change fate, no matter how hard you want to…

Aya just giggles and adjusts her placement at the dinner table to better accommodate her view, "No matter how much he told me he was fine and perfectly happy, I look at him now with that gun in his hands…. And it's like he's complete once again."

She used to resent that fact, that Duty only was truly happy with that gun in his hands, but she has come to realize that even though she filled a large void in his heart, her love is only completely happy on the battlefield. With the turn to a normal life here in this town, Aya and Dusty both knew they lost their purpose in life. It wasn't what they wanted to do, it was what they needed to do, since the fight against Umbrella and HCF got personal with the kidnapping of Aya herself. The whole strain of that week: starting from the kidnapping, to the mutation, all of it led to the fracture of Dusty's psychology. He hasn't been the same since the mutation, but the sadistic side hasn't shown itself in the years since. It is actually a very slight change in his personality, but Aya knows the Sadistic side has made itself known and imbedded a bit of itself in the conscious.

"No Sean!" a gunshot rings out from the shed, causing Aya to cry out and jump from the table.

Nothing, no sound after that gunshot…. But then she hears it, the near silent pop of a gas grenade. The redhead can't help but smile and giggle a bit as both men in her life run out of the shed, coughing and rubbing their eyes. She tried to tell Dusty that keeping the guns loaded was a bad idea, not because of Sean, but because she knew Dusty that well. Aya walks over to the sink and soaks a couple dish rags in cold water, then holds them out as Sean and Dusty burst through the back door. From the initial waft of the gas, she knows it was the special all-natural tear gas grenade he made several months ago..

"Thanks mom…" Sean coughs and wipes his eyes, then grabs a glass of milk.

Dusty grabs the rag, sucks on it, then washes his eyes out from the sink, "I got hit worse in the eyes…. Stupid me, keeping them loaded like that.. What was I thinking?"

Aya just leans back against the kitchen sink with a sly smirk on her face, "Milk is on the counter dear, Sean just moved it…"

Dusty stops mid-reach, then turns toward the jug of milk, popping off the top and chugging down half of it, "Sorry… I'll buy another gallon tomorrow when I go downtown…"

He stops, cringes as Aya's face curls into a snarl, "Why are you going downtown!?"

11

_Bad move, Dusty…_

"Um, baby… I was wanting to um…."

"Choose the next several words carefully…" he notices the large kitchen knife is missing from its spot above the sink.

"Love you, okay, bye-bye," Dusty quickly runs upstairs, slamming the bedroom door shut behind him.

The brunette warrior jumps clear across the king-size bed and dives into the master bathroom, locking the door and gasping for air. That look from his girlfriend is one that he saw only once before, and he still has the sets of scars from the repercussions. Everyone that has been with Dusty on missions knows about his little 'sadistic' side… But what Aya can do when you piss her off makes that little psycho seem like a pansy. Another scream of rage demanding to know his secret, but he won't tell.

_She's going to hate me… HATE me… But I have to do this one last recon… To help end HCF for good…_

The information for this last mission came from his usual contact, a small black book hanging from the window garden at the kitchen window. Aya has yet to catch on, which he is thankful for, but he knows she is gaining an awareness of when he gets information. It's marked same as the others, a red cross burned into the leather cover, which is then circled in white ink. The reverse, white cross and red circle, signifies 'iffy info', or information that might not be clear and true. The White Info is usually regarded as a trap at first, but he usually suits up and investigates it himself. So far only four out of nineteen white crosses have been traps, but he gained an advantage by tapping into the 'power' of his sadistic-persona. Speaking of his sadistic side, Dusty remembers the advice his psychiatrist told him last year… Dusty warned the elderly man about Isis… But did he listen? No. Dusty calls him Isis as a remembrance to the events that sparked his release.

_The good doctor pushed and prodded, wanting to see the anger first-hand. And see it first hand he did. With a firm push into the couch, the good doctor found himself pressed against the wall with his own pen pressed to his temples. The quivering lips of the psychiatrist are reflected in the angry eyes of Isis as he chuckles deeply._

"_What is it you want from me old man? Why is it Dusty tells me not to kill you?"_

_Suddenly Isis's eyes flutter and he falls to the floor, seemingly unconscious. The doctor holds his heart and takes deep, controlled breaths. When the form on the floor stands up again, Dusty holds his head and groans, knowing what just happened._

"_Um, Mr. Stracener.. I'm going to have to advise that you limit how often you let this 'Isis' fellow out to play. He weakens your will, leaving himself a loophole to sneak out when he wishes if the circumstances permit it. Any stress needs to be kept to a minimum."_

"Well, shit lot of good that did me huh?" Dusty stares at his own reflection in the mirror as Aya begins to tear the door down.

"LET ME IN DAMN IT! I'LL KILL YOU!"

The brunette sighs and faces the door, then opens it slowly, his red haired love knocking him to the floor. She kisses him and pins him to the tile, leaving him no room to even wiggle. Dusty tries to push her off, but stops as she buries her head into his neck and cries.

"Baby, it's just a routine check of a lab… Everything will be fine…"

She growls and smacks him square across his left cheek, "Bastard. You PROMISED me you wouldn't do that anymore, you promised you would put that life behind…"

"For now, love, I said for now… It's time I got back to putting an end to sorrow and the death…."

Aya holds his face and locks eyes with him, "What about MY worry and sorrow? I about die every time you leave…"

He smiles and kisses her, "Babe, I always come back… That is one promise I'll NEVER break… Trust me Aya."

He rarely uses her first name, always opting to use a nickname, so he knows she believes him. With a sigh of defeat, she rolls over and the two of them stare at the ceiling of the master bathroom. They share a look at each other, then laugh, both of them thinking the same thing.

"We really need to repaint this bathroom…."

11

The little red truck shifts as a large bag is tossed in the bed, the brunette warrior sighing and turning to face the two people behind him. Aya nods and hugs him, kissing his cheek, despite disapproving groans from the kid next to her. Sean just nods and salutes, not really sure what's going on, but knowing he wants to be a part of it and watch over his dad. It's a nearly silent goodbye, not much needing to be said as it were, so Dusty just climbs into the truck, smiles at his family, and backs out the driveway.

The air is heavy in the small pick-up, the woman on the radio talking about the traffic, "Blah blah, wreck here, wreck there… What's on for music?"

He flicks the station to another, then stops when he hears a familiar bass line…

**I'll make a soldier's decision to fly away**

**Load my gun, paint my face, call me Misery**

**I can see the sky light up and the ground explode…**

**Got my sights locked in I can see you breathe**

**Then I watched you fall and somebody scream.**

**It's the saddest thing when angels fly away…**

**I can't be home tonight…**

**I'll make it back, it's alright.**

**No one can ever love me,**

**Half as good as you…**

**Got a badge for my scars just the other day**

**Wore it proud for the sake of my sanity**

**I can see the flames burning bright from the winding road.**

**Like a haunting page from our history**

**Watch a young girl cry and her mother scream.**

**It's a saddest thing when angels fly away…**

Dusty sighs and leans back in the seat, his mind wandering as he steers the truck onto the interstate. That song is going to stay with him forever, the words ring rather true to his situation right at this moment. Aya waits for him at home, knowing he'll be back soon, yet still worried for his safety. Dusty grips the steering wheel tighter and watches the Welcome sign fly overhead.

"Now leaving home, please come back."

11

"GET THE FUCK DOWN!" Dusty dives toward the single soldier standing before him, knocking him down and firing his M79 at the monster staring them down.

The monster, Dusty having looked at it for all of three seconds, ignites into a ball of deep red flames as the man drags his new friend into a room of relative safety. The soldier is smacked a few times to bring him back to consciousness, the man groaning deeply. He locks eyes with Dusty and pushes him back, already reaching for his handgun around his right leg. Before the man can drag the weapon free of the holster, Dusty is pushing the barrel of the reloaded grenade launcher into his chest.

"Stop. Don't even think about it," his brown eyes cut across the room to a shaking form.

Over his years of fighting Virus-mutated monstrosities, nothing really takes the what-the-fuck from watching a person degrade into a zombie. The form, obviously that of a woman, slowly slinks up to a standing position, her eyes already glazed over and devoid of life. Dusty feels the soldier move the barrel of the M79 away, but the man doesn't move more than that as Dusty drops his foot on his chest and pins him against the wall. The right arm keeps the M79 pointed at the soldier, while his left arm draws the handgun and empties a round into the zombie's face. It drops back to the tile floor, still bleeding, and twitches.

"What the hell man!? You just shot a civilian!"

"Shut it. Look at it. Does anything about the missing ear, the torn flesh, even the broken fingers tell you she's still normal? That woman was bitten by a zombie, which in turn infected her with a viral mutagen named T. The virus turned her into a zombie, which would've attacked you and me with abandon. I shot it in the head, it died, again…."

The soldier, wearing HCF-logos all over himself, stands up and settles his stare on the dead woman, "Hmm…. She wasn't human?"

Dusty slides the strap for the grenade launcher around his shoulder and checks his M93R, "Not anymore. Once she rises up again, that's it. Name's Dusty Stracener, nice to meet you."

The soldier shakes the outstretched hand and replies, "Anthony Zwicker. First Sergeant, HCF Biohazard Counter Unit. Most of my team was killed-"

"By the swarm of Lickers on the Basement-Three Level. I saw it all from the other side of the fight. Would have stepped in, but was busy killing a Tyrant, 2nd generation."

Anthony tilts his head, "Second Generation? What?"

Dusty groans and pulls out a small computer, "This thing," the screen shows a silhouette of a monster about eleven feet tall, "is a Tyrant. Surgical Experimentation and Viral Research is to blame for this. Now THIS," the form shrinks and the claws extend, "is a 2nd Generation. It's no longer formed by Surgical Procedure, but by direct injection of a Tyrant-T viral compound. Basically a reformatted T-Virus."

The brunette sighs as the soldier shows a complete and total absence of understanding for the current topic of conversation, "Okay…. Just remember, big thing, shoot in head."

_This is going to be a long mission…_

11

Aya busies herself as she always has when he leaves on a mission by himself: she goes through the shed and cleans each weapon. It's not normal, as far as other women go, but Aya has a rather unique home life. Most women watch their husbands leave for a battlefield in some far off country, killing for something that makes little sense to the women… Aya watches her guy drive off to a closer battlefield, fight for a cause that many people describe as Domestic Terrorism. It gets to her every now and then, knowing Dusty is considered a terrorist by some naive people, but she just thinks of what the world would be like if they weren't fighting Umbrella.

"Aya?" the tiny voice of Sean fills the metal shed.

The redhead stops oiling the slide of a machine pistol and smiles, "Yes, Sean?"

"Um…" he twists his left foot and looks down at the floor, "is Dusty coming home?"

Her heart breaks at the question, cause she's wondering the same thing, but she just turns to him and drapes her arms around his neck in a hug, "Of course he is, Sean. Nothing can stop him from coming back to us. We're his family after all. And what are we going to do to him when he returns?"

"Stuff him full of rolls?" a snicker fills the room.

Aya smiles and shakes her head, "Nope. We give him a big talk about how he can't leave us anymore. Right?"

"Yup!" Sean smiles and runs off, calling for one of his friends that just passed in front of their house.

The Asian woman turns back to the gun, but her face contorts into a snarl, "HEY! WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU IN SCHOOL!?" She runs after him when she notices he has started running down the street.

11

The 2nd Generation Dusty was afraid of fighting has finally shown itself, and not in the way he would have liked. What remains of First Sergeant Anthony Zwicker slowly tumbles toward him, the transformation finally complete after what may have been several hours. The gunshot is still visible in the dead center of the monster's forehead, but the attack was too late, the virus already took over. A prayer was said for the man, but now Dusty has replaced that thought with a wish for the will to kill the man he just met not even two hours ago. A gunshot rings off, filling the empty room with its echo, but the bullet just drives into dead flesh. The Tyrant slowly turns to face him, its extended claws carving into the tile as it rotates. The elbow snaps loudly as the monster drives the clawed-hand upward, but the brunette warrior rolls back and through the doorway.

"Damn it's faster than I expected…" Dusty replays the data file he read back in the facility, the numbers mentioned nothing of a speed increase of this level.

Black boots squeak on the blood-covered tile as Dusty rounds corner after corner, every step echoed in an earth-shaking thud as the Tyrant is hot on his heels. He has been chased by every monster HCF and Umbrella has created, but none of them have had this monster's level of unstoppable. Dusty can tell that this monster gains strength while he wears himself down from the run. Suddenly his brown eyes darken and he stops running, coming to a dead stop in the middle of a large, nasty-smelling room. Dusty loosens his left knee and drops down, rolling in that same direction, causing his stalker to bolt past him and slam into the wall with a crash. The lighting overhead sways from the force of the impact, bringing a smile to the man as he regains his upright stance. With a flick of his elbow, the M93R is traded for the M79 Grenade Launcher. The sight is lined up perfectly as the Tyrant turns around and begins another charge at its target. A gentle squeeze and the 40mm shell flies from the barrel, connecting with the right ankle of his nemesis. The explosion itself does no damage, but it does knock the being off balance, causing the monster to stumble around the soldier as he reloads.

"Again!" Dusty quickly spins around and unloads another shell into the Tyrant's back, forcing the beast into the wall.

The lights rattle and shake again, this time small bits of debris begin to rain down. The monster roars in pain and rage at how this little human is besting it, but shakes the pain away and regains its stance and charges yet again, unaware of the copious amounts of blood pouring from its back. Dusty quickly reloads and raises the weapon once more, but a long claw slashes down and knocks the weapon from his hands. Before he can react to the attack, the Tyrant raises its arm back and knocks Dusty into the air with an effortless use of muscle. The air rushes around him, the colors blurring, the light fading out, consciousness fading fast…

_Sorry Aya, looks like I won't make it back…_

11

The darkness slowly brightens, the pain evident, the sorrow knocking the sleep away. A hushed voice groans, fingers wiping cold tears away from half-open eyes. This has happened before, the loss of consciousness, and waking up in pain. And the same person has caused it every single time. The single beam of light slowly twists and twirls, shapes, colors, and objects coming into focus and clarity. Several things rush through the mind of this freshly-awoken person, but one word flies from the dry lips.

"DUSTY!?"

Aya Akechi fainted about ten minutes ago, finally awoken as the pain has dwindled down to a bearable level. Every time this has happened to her, Dusty returned to her with another grievous wound for her to take care of. But this time, this time, the pain is more real than ever, the sorrow more demanding and taxing of her body than ever before. If he actually returns, his wounds won't be easy to heal, if he even returns that is… Tears sting her jade eyes once again, the realization she is going to lose him too much to bear anymore… In the silent bedroom, Aya begins to cry uncontrollably, her arms pulling her pillow up to her chest.

_Why does he keep doing this to himself? He has a family… It's not his fight anymore… He promised me that this book was the end of it all… No more fighting, no more worrying… I knew I should have made him donate the weapons to the military… Get those weapons of slaughter out of our lives… Ownership leads to temptation… I'm to blame for this… It's all my fault…_

The sobs gain momentum and volume as she mentally beats herself up for letting him go this time. If he does not make it back to her, Aya doesn't know what she'll do with herself… He is everything to her… She will forever love him, and only him… Aya Akechi will never love another man as she loves Dusty Stracener.

"C…Come back to m… me…. Please….."

**END**

**Evanescent Dreams: Fading Memories**

The darkness slowly brightens, the pain evident, the sorrow knocking the sleep away. A hushed voice groans, fingers wiping cold tears away from half-open eyes. This has happened before, the loss of consciousness, and waking up in pain. The single beam of light slowly twists and twirls, shapes, colors, and objects coming into focus and clarity. Several things rush through the mind of this freshly-awoken person, but one word flies from the dry lips.

"AYA!"

Dusty Stracener is not sure how long he's been out, but it must have been longer than twenty minutes, as his vision is still having trouble adapting to the light. Even though he is able to use his arms, nothing below the waist is moveable. Upon further inspection, the man realizes he's strapped to a metal table. Yet again, Dusty has found himself at the mercy of some nut with an operating kit.

A light chuckle flies from his dry lips, but an unknown voice chimes in, "Something funny? My little pet?"

Now, usually, Dusty recalls, this is where some tall, lanky, nerd-looking scientist comes waltzing in, congratulating himself on the victory over the brunette warrior. Not this time, the man that comes strolling in, literally, is old, decrepit, and apparently a paraplegic. The wheelchair is pristine and adorned with the red and white colors of Umbrella.

"Wait, I thought this was a HCF facility?" the confusion is heavy and evident in the question.

A light, raspy giggle, "Yes, my dear fellow… This WAS a HCF facility… But during the outbreak, Umbrella Sweeper crews came in and cleared the place out. We owe you a small thank you for weakening the T4 as much as you did. That allowed us to capture the monster for our own testing. Of course, it knocked you out, allowing us to capture you as well."

"For what," Dusty's voice has turned curt and sharp, "a series of tests as well?"

The old man laughs again, "You are quite funny, sir. But no, we have far… Grander plans for you…"

A surgical kit is rolled next to the table, just out of reach of Dusty's hands, "How impolite of me… I must introduce myself… I am the Doctor that will make you the basis for my next Genesis… My name is Dr-"

His subject spits clear in his eyes, "I don't care who you are, you're going to be dead shortly."

"Why is this to be true?" the accent is heavy, yet hard to place, but it doesn't matter.

"**Because… I'm going to break out of this constraint and break every single one of your vertebrate….**"

"Not much of a threat… I'm already half-paralyzed… Try something better."

Isis has to stop and think on this for a second, that threat ALWAYS works, "**How about this…. Let me out of here or I turn you into a human pretzel and feed you to the T5 three levels down?**"

The doctor is taken back by this, "T5? There's no such thing…"

"**Ok. Fine. Have it your way, miss the find of the century.. Miss out on the next evolution in Viral Engineering… I tried to help you…**"

A growl fills the air, then the sound of metal wheels rolling on tile echoes off, "Fuck you, freak."

"**Good, now that he's gone. We shall break out of this.**"

A sickening crack, then twisted fingers grasp a large saw from the table. As the saw is gripped in the hand, Isis reaches over with his left hand and quickly snaps his right elbow back into place. With several tugs, the wires powering the magnets holding the shell around his lower half are severed, allowing the monster to stand on his own. Something causes Isis to stop and look around, but he silences it with a punch to his own left temple.

"**Shut up, Dusty. This is my time to shine… Sit back and enjoy the ride.**"

11

Every single time Isis takes over his body, Dusty finds himself walking through the floating memories of his subconscious. It's a rather dark and dreary place as one would expect, but not because of the recent memories. The subconscious for this special Split-Personality Sufferer, is the home of every memory Isis has retained and uses to fuel its rage. As the brunette walks amongst his own memories and nightmares, he finds one shining light off in the distance. The light is warming, greeting, soothing to him, which causes Dusty to chase after it. Usually he dodges each memory, but this time he just runs through them, and as he does so, phrases from that memory fill his mind.

"You worthless piece of shit!"

"What fucking good are you if you can't even pick this one lock!?"

Pretty standard stuff from his childhood…. No wonder Isis kept them.. To this day those phrases still piss him off. But suddenly, as he passes through one memory with no image, no light, he stops dead in his tracks. The face that meets him is not what he thinks it should be…

"I thought you were good at this… This… Saving people thing? I mean, look at you, you're not even in your right mind… I'm probably dead from them tracking you back to the house…. Sean's probably dead… Look back at all the people who've died helping you…"

As Aya Akechi yells at him, the faces of everyone he's watched die passes by, "Jessie… Drew…. Brian…. Michael…. I'm so sorry…."

"Don't apologize you moron! Nothing you can do for them now!" Aya reaches out to him and smacks him, but her hand just passes through him, reaffirming that she is a false-memory.

"Isis created you…."

"No, you did. You look to me as your rock.. Your guiding light in life Dusty…. I was placed here to keep Isis focused on his mission…."

"Mission?" Dusty tilts his head slightly in interest.

"Here," she holds out her hands, a small vial of yellow liquid forming, "this is what he's supposed to look out for while he's out. This vial contains a new virus they are crea-"

"Aya? AYA!" Dusty growls as she fades away, then the darkness fades to light.

11

"AYA!" the soldier jumps up and looks around, he's back in the lab, a dented wheelchair resting on its side in front of him.

There is a heavy weight in his right arm, causing the brunette to stare at the man he's holding, "Le- let go… Can- bre-th…."

"Who are you!?" Dusty growls at the doctor in his hands, causing the man to gasp for air once more.

"I- Doctor Vicktor Vania… Please, I have a granddaughter at ho- home…"

"YOU have a child at home!? Waiting for you to come back alive? What about me? What about each and every person here that you helped kill!? Your virus and your ambitions have made countless children orphans…. And you don't care!"

The Doctor gasps and screams in pain as Dusty tosses him against the wall, "Please… I had no…"

"You dare finish that sentence and I will do far worse than make you a paraplegic… You can't say those things to me and get away with it… You can't be forgiven for your past atrocities and the atrocities of your company… What is the death toll up to so far for Umbrella's work?"

"I…" Dr. Vania scrambles away, but Dusty drops a foot into his chest, pinning the elderly man to the floor, "I…."

"TELL ME!" the brunette psychotic screams a mere three inches into his enemy's ear.

"I don't know! Please I don't know!" tears roll down the Russian doctor's face.

"As of the actual last count from the AUC on March 13th, 2012..." Dusty reads verbatim from the pocket computer, "The current death toll to Umbrella's Viral Weaponry is listed at over 5.4 billion people. That is five billion, four hundred million sins against you, Vania.. And they cannot be forgiven… Not by me, not by the orphans, and never by God…"

A squeal, then an incoherent babble fly from the bad doctor's lips as he tries to push the foot off his chest, and scramble to get away. Dusty growls and applies more pressure, grunting as he cracks a couple ribs. Blood slowly drips from the quivering, dry lips of his target, but that doesn't stop the man from bending down and coming nose-to-nose with the scientist responsible for this incident today. Dusty wasn't a man of God growing up, always felt that church was an unneeded form of minor control.. But ever since he saw his first zombie all those years ago, Dusty Stracener has started looking to God. Not for answers, but for reprimand for allowing people to create companies like Umbrella and viruses like T, G, Isis, and others yet identified… Just the thought of God nowadays is enough to enrage the man, causing him to grow angry and hateful at whoever made him into the answer for everything.

"What are you going to do to me?" Vicktor squirms under the pressure and the pain of broken ribs.

Dusty's eyes flash an angry red, but he holds Isis back from coming forward, "That's for God to decide. If you make it out of here before I destroy the place, you will be a changed man… If you don't make it out, that is your punishment for the sins you've committed."

Dusty walks off, dragging the wheelchair with him, no help for this man, just as no one is here to help him. Several minutes of walking, and several minutes of ignoring the screams from the good doctor later, Dusty arrives at the main control room of the lab. He chuckles at the irony of how he always finds the control room after he's dealt with everything else in the lab. No preemptive strikes here, and Dusty prefers it this way, allows him time to find the innocents….

"Self Destruct Sequence has been activated.. This cannot be-" every time that voice is heard, a chill runs up and down his spine.

_Ok, time to go…_ the chestnut-haired man quickly turns and bolts out the control room, recalling every step he took to get here.

"I'm coming home to you baby!"

11

Three days, it's been three days since he left. No mission has ever taken more than two days for her beloved Dusty. These things always come in waves, first the sorrow of missing him, then the nonchalance of waiting for him to return to her, and now, step three, the anger. A quiet grunt, then a thud as Aya slams her first into the pillow on the bed she shares with Dusty.

"Why do you always take up things that don't concern you? You could have just left Riley and never dealt with Umbrella or HCF again… But then you never would have met me… And I'd probably be dead on that island… Ok," another punch, "why did you have to stay involved in the viral affairs? Why couldn't you just see the life you and I could've had and decided to never take another step toward those guns?"

Tears stopped rolling down her cheeks long ago, the trails already dried up. The sadness is nonexistent, the anger and hurt of him leaving her again to go shoot things… Even though he puts up a strong, mature front, Dusty Stracener is, at heart, through and through, a child. Looking for whatever adventure provides the most fun, the most entertainment… Aya curses herself for not providing enough entertainment to compensate for shooting things, blowing stuff up, and nearly getting sliced, diced, beaten up by the exact things he's wanting to kill…

"MOM! DOOR!" Sean screams from the couch, which is about six feet from the front door.

The Asian woman sighs and quickly moves down the steps, her feet padding softly on the carpeted stairs. As Aya nears the door of interest, a loud slam hits the window, blood spattering across the frosted glass. Suddenly images of the zombies and events at Isle Eras fly through her mind and she rips the door open, finding not a zombie or other monstrosity, but a severely beaten up Dusty Stracener.

"Oh my god! Dusty!" she reaches out and grabs her love.

"To.. Told you I'd… Be… ba-" he faints in her arms from the wounds.

_I'll take care of you… Don't worry… _she kisses the top of his head and asks for Sean to help drag him to the bathroom.

11

Dusty groans as he comes back to reality, his head heavy in someone's warm lap, a soft song being sung above him. The voice is soft, nurturing, like his mother when he was little.. A hand slowly runs through his hair, causing the smell of fresh cut roses to fill the air.

"You washed my hair with your shampoo again didn't you?" the male groans and rolls over in Aya's lap.

She giggles and leans down to kiss his forehead, "Had to, nothing else would wash the smell of blood and gunpowder out."

He opens his eyes and stares into her luscious jade eyes, smiling wide, "Well thank you baby… Where's Sean?"

"Right here dad… Mom made me torch your clothing…. What happened out there?"

"We're both wondering the same thing, Dusty… You need to talk about it…" Aya's soft face contorts into a frown.

"Well part of it he can be here for, but after that, you need to amscray, kiddo," the brunette sits up and reaches for his small computer, the screen cracked.

"They found a way to make a virus that attacks the DNA of the host, creating a specified mutation in the infected. The latest test in this theory was the T4-Tyrant, it was faster… Faster than anything I've ever fought before baby.. We weakened each other during our fight and Umbrella was able to capture it and almost got me…"

"Um," Aya shifts uncomfortably, "I have a confession Dusty… Doug, he worked for Umbrella, as part of the Fusion-Facility Management Team… The virus you are talking about, is actually a new virus named Fusion. It is a parasitic Nano-machine designed with the goal of tweaking your DNA by attaching a second RNA to the double-helix. Umbrella wasn't stealing the T4... They were retrieving it…"

Dusty stares at his love, not believing this, "And you yell at ME for keeping secrets?"

She sighs and holds up a small disc, the years are apparent on it as the man takes it, then slides it into his computer, "What is this? It's really dated…. With the HCF Letterhead!?"

Aya awkwardly adjusts her position and locks eyes with him, "Remember how I told you I was the lead researcher on Isis at Isle Eras?"

"Mmmhmmm.. Why don't I like where this is going?"

"I had a secret desire, to study Genetics.. Being the only redhead in my family, ever, I was drawn to it… Well after failed test, number… Whatever it was, I decided to write a theory about Mutation at the Genetic Level… I never thought it would turn into this…"

"So," he rubs her hands with his lovingly, "this is why you kept Fusion a secret from me? You think it was your creation?"

She nods and he smiles, "Baby, Fusion is not your creation. It was based off an idea you wrote, yes, but that's as far as it goes. Was your goal with that document to create a virus that manipulates the DNA directly?"

Another shake of her head, "Then Fusion is no more your creation than it is mine."

"Ok.." she still isn't sure, but Dusty just kisses her and smiles as Sean groans and steps out.

"Now that he's gone, we can talk about the nastier things…" his computer is flipped open again and he's typing away on the broken screen.

"What in the hell is that!?" Aya gags at the sight of the Tyrant-like monster.

"Looks like the Neanderthal doesn't it? They called it a T4-Class. From what I read it is no longer a product of surgical and Viral systems, but a Tyrant-Class T-Virus mutation. I'm thinking that mutated virus was created using a basic form of this mysterious Fusion Virus. What?"

Aya is twiddling her thumbs, which is a sign that she's hiding something, "Out with it, Kawaii."

She blushes at his growing knowledge of the Japanese language and sighs, the weight heavy, "When I came back from the HCF Facility, on the plane… Doug actually had access to the cameras on the Oil Rig that went down… He wouldn't necessarily go into details, but he did mention Fusion when I pressured him. I think that Oil Rig was a Fusion Research Facility."

He chuckles, "What?"

"Nothing," Dusty tries to dismiss it, but he feels her eyes cutting into him. "Bah, we're gonna need to start making call letters for these things now… FRF?"

The redheaded Asian ignores him, "Whatever. This place Doug was monitoring has to be where Fusion was perfected."

"Perfected? How could they do that without any of the UA guys knowing?"

"Well, think… Umbrella was retrieving the T4 right? If it was created with Fusion, that means Fusion is perfected. Umbrella and HCF never release a project before the data is stable. You don't test something on an important mission."

Her love arches an eyebrow at her remarks, "And what, exactly, was Umbrella's Mission? Since you seem to be all-knowing?"

11

_Great… I just keep opening the door…_

"Well… Raba-Dusty.. Umbrella's Mission was to reacquire a data-file on Fusion. They released the T4 most likely to disrupt the base, create disarray so they could get in with a Sweeper-Team… My guess, you got there a few days after, when they sent another team to disable and retrieve their animal…" Aya promptly recalls everything in the report sent to her by her contacts in the UA.

"This doesn't make any sense.. So I was actually at a…?"

"A warehouse for a company called Chemidyne. They are the last remaining company fighting Umbrella tooth-and-nail for Viral Supremacy. Now I know the next question too. How did Chemidyne acquire a working data file for Fusion? They have a leak. We at the UA have yet to figure out how or why, but we know there's one. Our first clue was when there was a big increase in the availability of Umbrella Bioware on the black market a few months back." a hand is raised to silence her.

"I… I've heard enough…" Dusty slides back down into the cold water, his eyes heavy and fading fast, "I just want a nap now…"

A big wet smack fills the bathroom as Aya drops both hands on her love's exposed chest, "NO! You have to come down for breakfast."

"…..Really? Who cooked?" his interest is peaked at this.

"Sean," there goes the interest.

"No thanks…"

**END**


	3. Chapter 3

**Evanescent Dreams: Fading Memories**

_**Let me just take a second here and explain something about this story. My stories follow a strict time line It is as follows: No End in Sight to My Nightmare, End Game, Evanescent Dreams, High Tide, Fading Memories, Evanescent Memories, Evanescent Fate, and finally No More Dreams. Yes, there are some continuity errors between what is revealed in every story and this one… I'm in the process of rewriting End Game to reflect what is said here and follow more with the reworked storyline in Memories and Fate. On with the show.**_

"When I finally got around to locating the Antigen Weapon in one of the sub-levels, it was clear to me that I might actually have to break my promise to Aya… The fight with Thomas was rather odd though… When I finally managed to deal the death blow, the one where I struck him with the antigen, time almost stopped.. Slowed down… I could move fine, but Thomas was almost frozen in a stare of horror. When I looked into his face, I saw everyone I've lost.. Friends, family… I decided right then I wasn't going to lose you…"

He stopped quoting the book verbatim, now looking straight into her eyes as the page is turned. Dusty attempts to read again, but Aya drapes her hand over the pages, a look of pure adoration on her face. Neither say a word as their eyes lock and they lean in for a kiss. Her hand drapes around his neck and he pulls her closer, but a ringing phone interrupts the tender moment.

"Akechi," Dusty must admit, hearing her use her name instead of his irks him, but a plan is forming to fix it…

11**One Year Later**11

"Aya… Hey Aya…"

"No Mr. Hollicky, I don't want a tongue-washing… But I will take those carrot cake cookies…" he arches an eyebrow and pokes her again.

"Hey, AYA!" he screams into her face and her eyes fly open.

Before Dusty can react and guard himself, he is on his back on the floor at the foot of the bed, "What!? WHAT!?"

"Look… Ah… Outside.." he clutches his ribcage and grimaces at how hard the kick was.

"OOH! LETMEGRABMYCOAT!" she speeds off into the bathroom to clean up.

It's the first snowfall, a little later this year, but the first snowfall none-the-less. Dusty smiles at his well made plan, every single detail planned out perfectly, down to every turn, every step, and every word he will say. This is going to be as memorable as their meeting on Isle Eras.

Dusty turns to call for her, but finds the woman who captured his heart standing at the entrance to the bathroom, her hair laying loose around her shoulders, her eyes glowing with happiness, her body wrapped up in a warm coat, "Absolutely stunning…"

She blushes and turns her head slightly, "Am not.."

"Are too."

She takes the bait, "Am not!"

"ARE TOO ARE TOO ARE TOO!"

"Am not," she smirks, "times infinity!"

They both share a laugh before stepping down the stairs, the sound of Sean's snoring causing them both to giggle more. The door to his room is slowly closed and Dusty wraps an arm around his love's waist, which catches her off guard. She gasps and then slowly falls back against his arm, smiling happily as they slide out the front door. The weight in his pocket reminds him of his mission today, a smile on his face almost unrecoverable, meaning that nothing that will happen today can make him sad.

Dusty laughs, "What is so funny?"

He pokes her nose and replies, "This is the first day since Riley that I have woken up with the hope that everything will be ok. That my life, our lives, will be happy. This is the day that Chris told me would come. He said this was the feeling he had when he knew that he and Jill would be ok together."

Aya rubs her nose and growls at him, "Stop that!" then a blush appears on her face. "Does that mean we are going to work out?"

He picks her up in his arms and kisses her, "Why wouldn't we be? You've stayed with me through all the secret missions, all the broken bones, torn skin, wasted blood.. Without you Aya, I don't think I'd have made it back so many times."

"So, was all the pain worth it?"

"You know, I had no idea that it would go this way, but chance has always made it better… Plus, if I avoided the pain, I'd miss this…"

They round a corner into the park, the ice rink empty, and a song playing softly over the speakers. Aya squeals with joy and hugs him, her feet soon propelling her to the pair of green ice skates resting under a nearby bench. As she puts them on, Dusty waves to the man hidden inside an igloo, the one playing the music, signaling to turn it up.

"And now I'm glad I didn't know… The way it all would end, the way it all would go… Our lives, are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain…. But I'd of had to miss the dance…"

Aya slowly raises her head, luscious green eyes locking with his calm brown, tears staining the sides of them as she smiles, "You know I love you, right?"

Dusty leans back against the border wall and smirks, "I know you do…"

As he closes his eyes, to hold back the tears of happiness, a snowball smacks him clean in the teeth, "Asshole!"

The brunette laughs and winks at her, "Hey darlin'… I love you more than life itself.."

She slowly walks up to him, draping her arms over his shoulders, their gazes locked once more, "Do you love me more than the sun?"

A nod, "Than the stars?"

Another nod, which pulls a smirk from the redhead, "More than guns and explosions?"

"Oohhh… Um… What kind of gun?" she smacks him and walks off, this is all going perfectly to plan.

She does a quick circle of the rink, then charges at him, spraying the warrior with shaved ice, "Come on, Shakespeare!"

Dusty feels his heart sink, only to slowly rise up on this cloud of pure happiness, "On my way, Shortcake!"

11

"Shortcake!" Aya stumbles, falling to her face as her whole body gives way.

She's had butterflies before, she's blushed to the point where her skin was red for weeks, but this feeling, he just swept her clear off her feet. Dusty is soon at her side, picking her up and apologizing.

"Stop apologizing hunny.." she kisses him passionately, both falling back onto the ice.

Before he can say anything, she has his face in her hands, the kiss deepening. Aya never knew someone like this existed, someone that fills in every blank she had in her body. That guy who knows what to say, and knows what she is thinking. Her everything is tied to this man she has in her hands, his smile, his voice, his everything… Aya Akechi has finally fallen in love with Dusty Stracener. Through everything they've experienced, these past few months have shaped her heart to fit his, two parts of one whole. Sure it sounds corny, but corny is just another name for tried and trusted. This is the happiness she has craved forever, the happiness she deserves.

"You know," he smiles, "you keep kissing me like that, and we're gonna need an ambulance…"

"Hey, it's a private place…" she kisses him again, the sun finally rising over the tops of the trees.

11

Dusty smiles wide, the skating didn't exactly go to plan, but hey, he finally got her to say it, "Why did you call me that Shortcake name?"

He turns to face her, a car roaring past them as he stares deep into her eyes, "It fits you.. You are short of course, also rather short-tempered about certain things… You're cute, adorable, and sweet, just like cake.."

"So, you hug your cake?"

"If the mood strikes me right, I just might…"

Aya punches him in the arm and huffs, "Smartass.."

"If my ass wasn't smart, you wouldn't love me…"

"You got that right, but you have to HAVE an ass before it can be smart."

A laugh is shared between the two as they slowly turn into another street, the snow still piling up, "What is this place…?"

Dusty smiles at how this little secret affects her, "Like it?"

"Like it? When did you manage to do this?"

Behind Dusty's locksmith shop, he has spent the past several months building a simple, pure, snowy scene.. He bent tree branches, tied limbs to the rooftops nearby, to create this perfect beam of sunlight on a small throne made of snow. Aya instinctively takes a seat on it, her eyes closed.

_Here I go.._ Dusty smiles as his love revels in the sunlit throne, his hand pulling the box from his pocket.

As Aya's eyes open slowly, the box is pressed into her face and opened. Light reflects off the mirror hidden inside, the sight inside of a ring hanging overhead. Almost without thinking, she reaches for it, tugging a bit to wrangle it free. The ring finally comes loose, but not before shaking the limbs overhead, causing the packed snow to shake and start another snowfall.

"I've been going out of my mind lately, Aya… Trying to find the perfect memory to shape for us, for this.. Each moment has lasted a lifetime for us… The moment I met you on Isle Eras, that moment ended my life, the life I led before you.. Amidst the gunfire and dirt, I started another lifetime, with you. Our lifetime is the one we are living now, nothing before US matters… Not your past, not my past, not even Sean's past… A lifetime to me, is defined by its moments, not a length of time…"

He reaches up to grab her hand, cupping the ring between their grasps, "I know these things to be true because if I lost you, there'd be no other life in me, or for me.. This lifetime needs a defining moment, and that is where this ring comes into play. This ring signifies the completion of a circle.. The day I encountered the zombies, viruses, and monsters of Umbrella and HCF, I lost my heart, my faith in the world. I fought, fired each bullet, and bled to restore that faith, and it was only when I found you that I discovered my faith never left, it just ached for a reason to shine.. My reason now is you, your smile, your laugh, your eyes… Not a second goes by when I'm not thinking of you… "

Tears slide down Aya's face as he squeezes her hands lovingly, "You have closed the circle, completed my life.. Everything I was missing, the things that made me a broken human being, I gained with you.. I don't think I can ever repay you for the mountain of things I owe you for, the countless times you've kept me alive, the moments where I was ready to give up, but you knew just what to say to put that spark back in my fire.. For being the rock and guiding light I need to do what needs to be done each and every day. I don't just owe you my happiness, I owe you my life, our life, and the lives of our children, their children... What I owe you for will forever be endless, to the point where I'll never be able to repay it... But I want you to know, Shortcake, that I'd have it no other way... I truly do not want for a way to pay you back for all you've done, because everything I want, I have in you, my heart, my soul, my faith, the life in my body, and the breath in my lungs..."

His love has pretty much broken down into a lump of tears as she sits on her knees in front of him, the smile only broken by sobs of pure happiness, "So with this declaration of an undying love, unwavering loyalty, and unending faithfulness, I ask... Aya, will you ma-"

He never gets to finish, she never gets to accept, their kiss sealing the deal, as it did years ago... The snow has stopped falling, the sun is shining, and birds are chirping off in the distance. There are no other sounds, nothing to disturb the peace and happiness in the small yard behind the locksmith shop on Rose Avenue.

**END**


End file.
